Some Vintage Airplanes Can be Flown by Sport Pilots
Current vintage lightplane owners have been anxiously awaiting the final rule for light-sport aircraft, hoping that their particular airplane would fit within the guidelines. Joe Norris of EAA’s Aviation Services compiled the following list of Type Certificated aircraft whose performance criteria, as documented within the Type Certificate Data Sheet, would allow the airplane to be operated by a sport pilot.
In the final rule, the slight increase in maximum gross weight to 1,320 pounds did allow a few more aircraft to meet the criteria. Remember that the maximum gross weight is not the only parameter the aircraft must meet. Take a look at the synopsis created by EAA http://www.sportpilot.org/rule/final_rule_synopsis.html.
Also, it should be noted that attempting to change the certification parameters (lower gross weight limit, for example) of a Type Certificated aircraft through the Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) process, in an effort to make an aircraft fit within the parameters, will not be allowed by the FAA.
Maintenance standards for Type Certificated aircraft still apply to these aircraft (i.e., annual inspections, PMA/STC’d parts, etc.) and an appropriately certificated mechanic must perform or supervise the maintenance.
For many pilots, the option to operate their aircraft under the sport pilot guidelines is quite attractive. To see if your aircraft qualifies as an aircraft eligible to be operated by a sport pilot, see the following list: http://www.sportpilot.org/lsa/standard_certificate_aircraft.html.